A number of things have been overcooked lately, starting with a prime rib I cooked for Thanksgiving in a 225 F oven was done way earlier than I expected it to be. Then last week I made two cheesecakes in a row (threw the first one out) that were excessively browned where they should have just been a lovely yellow. For the second one, considering what happened to the first I actually covered it with foil and baked it at a lower temperature, but it cooked so hot it browned under the foil. Back to that rib roast, the meat had the tight/seized look of meat that had been cringing from high heat. We bought a new oven thermometer to test it at various temperatures over the past few days. Basically, it's running about 75-100 degrees hotter than it should be. There's just no such thing as 'low'. 200 is actually about 275 and 300 is around 375-400. But 400 is only about 425. Odd. Going to have to call a repairman. Something I hate about Viking now is that there's no one to call. You contact the local repair people, sure, but you have to rely on them to talk to a Viking representative as they don't see that many higher end ranges around here. There's no CSR directly related to Viking to turn to for comfort or information. It's like going to a doctor but talking to him through a brick wall.

If you're considering an upgrade? Take Viking off your list. I do not recommend!

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Carl, sorry to hear that. I find myself hoping that Viking has a bot that picks up all references to their brand that someone with some clout might actually get hold of and think "we need to make this right" but I'm sure I'm just pumping smoke up my own skirt.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Having a bad appliance is no fun, but may I ask, just out of curiousity, why would one buy an appliance as important as an oven from a dealer who cannot service it? I think that is the first question that needs to be asked when looking at new appliances, or even used for that matter. Do you have someone who services this brand and can you get parts for me?

Karen, I bought it from an authorized dealer, who are authorized to repair. Doesn't mean they get a lot of experience working on them, though; and Viking's not there to help if I keep having trouble locally getting things fixed right. It's just been one thing after another with that oven, something that should work trouble-free for decades.

Howie--no idea what part we need, unfortunately. Not sure Bob would even brave trying to fix it himself, though he's generally terrifically handy, since it involves regulating gas--or without Viking's help in troubleshooting the problem.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Wow, that really sucks, Jenise. As I've mentioned before, I've been very happy with my Thermador convection oven but I recall at the time of my purchase some friends criticizing my choice and saying that I should have gone for Viking (and maybe Jenn-Air). I guess I got the last laugh.

Jenise wrote:Karen, I bought it from an authorized dealer, who are authorized to repair. Doesn't mean they get a lot of experience working on them, though; and Viking's not there to help if I keep having trouble locally getting things fixed right. It's just been one thing after another with that oven, something that should work trouble-free for decades.

Howie--no idea what part we need, unfortunately. Not sure Bob would even brave trying to fix it himself, though he's generally terrifically handy, since it involves regulating gas--or without Viking's help in troubleshooting the problem.

Jenise, I have never had any Viking appliances, but I do know that the authorized appliances dealers are visited by representatives from the companies they carry in the store. Have you asked your dealer to contact you when the Viking rep comes into town? I've done that with a kitchen floor product, and got immediate results. Also, have had good results with Sub Zero on a couple of issues. I just did a quick check on Vikings customer support ratings...not so good. Lots of great comments on the appliances themselves, but also lots of issues with their customer service when something does go wrong. Maybe, asking to be visited by the rep from the company might be helpful.

You know I am in the "I hate Viking" club with you. We have a side by side fridge freezer on the blink. We can only get crushed ice, no whole cubes out of the shoot, also, one of the doors is ascew. I called several appliance repair shops that previously serviced Viking and neither of them do any more. Luckily I overheard a conversation of a friend discussing similar woes with another friend and how she FINALLY found a repair place who services Viking. I was able to call and get them to piggy back our appointments since she lives up the street. They come tomorrow. I will get them to check my oven temps as well, since last night I ruined some Chocolate pots d' creme that I made for a birthday dinner. I checked them before they were supposed to be done and they were literally boiling in their little ramekins.

Hello. My name is Carrie, and I...I....still like oaked Chardonnay. (I feel so much better now.)

Okay, well the service guy is still here, finishing up, but here's the deal. I asked him to check my oven temps because things seemed to be overcooking. So, the first question he asked was, "Do you always let your ovens preheat at least 15 minutes first?" Apparently during those 15 minutes, the temperatures fluctuate dramatically (especially with gas) in order to reach the steady temperature you choose, and at times go up really high before they "land" at your desired temp. So, he then let it heat up and was all set to tell me the temp was fine, because "look, it's set to 350 and your temp is 354," but then the next time I came back into the kitchen he said, "Whoa, now it's up to 460...what the...?" So apparently in my large oven the thermostat is broken, but he's having trouble getting in touch with Viking to give me an estimate so he's going to have to call me with it. The smaller oven thermostat is okay (which is odd because that's the oven that overcooked my puddings.) However, it's oven door is slightly bent (he said because the installers often carry the units by their handles.) It also doesn't close properly and unless you push it past where it gets stuck, it's open a bit so the oven runs hotter to compensate for the cooler air creeping out. He fixed it as well as he could. And fixed our ice maker problem as well as he could (do you see a pattern?) but he said the switch is going to need replacing because it's getting corroded.I'll come back and post again when I get the estimate for the thermostat. I know it will not be cheap!Today's service call, not too bad: $138.00. He was here for almost two hours.

Hello. My name is Carrie, and I...I....still like oaked Chardonnay. (I feel so much better now.)

Karen/NoCA wrote:Maybe the Viking Spy Bots will pick up on this conversation and give you two a shout out.

I would hope, but I don't think it will happen. Too bad too, because what made Viking's reputation is the fact that Mr. Viking Inventor, who originally built these one at a time, replaced some New York socialite's range in it's entirety. But there's no stand-alone Viking corporation any longer. They were bought by Amana who got bought by Whirpool--or something like that, in between me buying my first Viking stovetop and buying this. It's just one big corporate entity who doesn't give a damn if customers are satisfied with what their $10,000 bought them or not. My how far we've come!

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Carrie L. wrote:Okay, well the service guy is still here, finishing up, but here's the deal. I asked him to check my oven temps because things seemed to be overcooking. So, the first question he asked was, "Do you always let your ovens preheat at least 15 minutes first?" Apparently during those 15 minutes, the temperatures fluctuate dramatically (especially with gas) in order to reach the steady temperature you choose, and at times go up really high before they "land" at your desired temp. So, he then let it heat up and was all set to tell me the temp was fine, because "look, it's set to 350 and your temp is 354," but then the next time I came back into the kitchen he said, "Whoa, now it's up to 460...what the...?" So apparently in my large oven the thermostat is broken, but he's having trouble getting in touch with Viking to give me an estimate so he's going to have to call me with it. The smaller oven thermostat is okay (which is odd because that's the oven that overcooked my puddings.) However, it's oven door is slightly bent (he said because the installers often carry the units by their handles.) It also doesn't close properly and unless you push it past where it gets stuck, it's open a bit so the oven runs hotter to compensate for the cooler air creeping out. He fixed it as well as he could. And fixed our ice maker problem as well as he could (do you see a pattern?) but he said the switch is going to need replacing because it's getting corroded.I'll come back and post again when I get the estimate for the thermostat. I know it will not be cheap!Today's service call, not too bad: $138.00. He was here for almost two hours.

Thermostat...makes sense. Mine is definitely not a problem of me not letting it get to temperature. That's a good deal for a two hour service call. Let's compare prices when we're all done. I'll have service out here later this week.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Yeah, I think I'll go home and give my 24" GE range that is now 20 years old a big hug and a kiss. It consistently reads 25F/14C high, but I've never had a speck of trouble with it otherwise.Hope the Vikings get fixed!

Jenise wrote:...there's no stand-alone Viking corporation any longer. They were bought by Amana who got bought by Whirpool--or something like that

Jenise, it's true Whirlpool owns many labels but as far as I can tell Viking isn't one of them. Maytag, which long owned Jenn-Air (1982 per Wikipedia) and then Amana (2001), was in turn absorbed by Whirlpool (2006), which already owned KitchenAid, among others. A little more web research just told me that Viking was bought by somebody called Middleby Corp. toward the end of 2012. Never heard of 'em until now but no connection to Whirlpool AFAIK.

I read somewhere that Viking got their start in refrigerators by buying a high-end design from Amana, so maybe that's the connection you heard about. Anyway, it sounds like you can blame a "corporate entity" if you want but it's a relatively modest-sized one I'd never heard of until today.

Mark Willstatter wrote:I read somewhere that Viking got their start in refrigerators by buying a high-end design from Amana, so maybe that's the connection you heard about. Anyway, it sounds like you can blame a "corporate entity" if you want but it's a relatively modest-sized one I'd never heard of until today.

You jog a memory--I do remember learning that Viking was looking to expand their line to all kitchen appliances and had gotten involved with Amana--you're probably right that I've mixed up the details on who/what. But it remains true that if you, a customer, want to talk to someone at Viking directly, you can't. There's no Customer Service.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Carrie L. wrote:Got the estimate...$389 to replace the thermostat in the large oven and the part that selects "cubes" or "crushed ice" on the freezer door. We're going for it.

That's not bad! I was expecting worse. Did they price the thermostat separately or was it all one big number?

I'm scheduled for service next Monday. Had to wait to get this Russian guy who has been promoted to service department foreman--he'll still make house calls when requested but only a few each week. He's a 'stove whisperer' compared to the rest.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Carrie L. wrote:Got the estimate...$389 to replace the thermostat in the large oven and the part that selects "cubes" or "crushed ice" on the freezer door. We're going for it.

That's not bad! I was expecting worse. Did they price the thermostat separately or was it all one big number?

I'm scheduled for service next Monday. Had to wait to get this Russian guy who has been promoted to service department foreman--he'll still make house calls when requested but only a few each week. He's a 'stove whisperer' compared to the rest.

I'm not sure as I was not home when he called, so he spoke with Len. It wasn't as bad as I thought either, especially when he had said during his visit that they are "expensive to replace." That's great you get to request someone you have confidence in. Unfortunately, I think these guys are a dying breed...

Hello. My name is Carrie, and I...I....still like oaked Chardonnay. (I feel so much better now.)

Okay, so Andrey the stove whisperer just left. Yes, it's the thermostat, and he confirmed my finding that the swings are higher at the lowest temperatures, but until the new thermostat comes in he was able to adjust the existing thermstat so that it will be closer to normal if and when I do use it. The temperature still crawls up in a ratcheting fashion, but for an hourish it should be safe to use. I can now bake a cheesecake without the top turning brown, but no prime ribs until I get the new thermostat.

Also, picked his brain about appliances in general.

For himself, he would buy everything Wolf and Subzero. They are extremely efficient, long-lasting, and service support is outstanding. For any other appliance he needed that neither makes, he'd buy Miehle because they're reliable, customer and service support is good, and Miehles now come with computers that he can hook his laptop into and get a complete diagnostic complete with serial numbers, build dates, and the like--just like modern cars. He doesn't recommend Viking--service support is terrible--and especially dislikes their refrigerators. He likes Gaggenau. He does not like GE Monogram fridges because the evaporator is in a bad place that causes lots of problems. The stoves are allright if they're the ones made by DCS. Neither he nor I were sure if DCS, as of the last three or so years, still makes Monograms. He likes Dacor. Hates anything Samsung because of their poor business practices; apparently, it's company policy to pretend that the serial number on any piece of equipment not previously serviced was provided incorrectly, which buys them a few more weeks without paying on warrantee work. My repairman's store now photographs all Samsung equipment they service so that immediate proof can be provided without returning to the customer.

I mentioned the bent oven door problem you had to him. He said he's never encountered the problem your serviceman described to you. In fact, he opened my little oven to see exactly how that would work and he just couldn't figure it out. However, he has had bent oven doors on these large ranges. The culprit? Someone, usually children, opening the oven door to use it as a stepstool. Useful conversation--it caused him to open both my oven doors and see a difference--my large door is sagging. New hinges ordered!

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Good information Jenise..looks like you will get your problems solved. I was happy to read he liked Dacor. I love my big double ovens, and any customer service has been great. My only issue with them started the first time I used them. It was tomato harvest season, and my kitchen remodel was almost done, but the ovens were installed. I picked bunches of tomatoes and roasted them in the oven. The tomato juice splatters in the oven floor left gray marks that I was never able to remove. This was before Gene had his big stainless steel grill built out on the patio. Now I use the grill to roast all my tomatoes. Those gray marks are still there and more have been added. For some reason that black ceramic did not do will with the tomato acid. It does not affect how the oven performs however.